The present invention relates generally to a method for loading animals onto vehicles and, more particularly, to a method for cooling and/or ventilating these live animals while such animals are loaded into vehicles. The invention further relates to portable cooling and/or ventilating apparatus for use in the method of loading live animals into vehicles.
While the method of the subject invention will be discussed primarily hereinafter with reference to a method for loading live poultry into vehicles, it is to be understood that the use and the application of the method of the subject invention is not thereby so limited. For example, the method of the invention may be useful in loading any live animal onto a vehicle where cooling and/or ventilating of the animal during the loading procedure is desirable. In addition, the benefits and advantages of the subject method are equally applicable to the unloading of live animals from transport vehicles and thus the term xe2x80x9cloadingxe2x80x9d as used in herein encompasses both the loading and unloading processes for such animals. Further, the term xe2x80x9cloadingxe2x80x9d as used herein also includes the time that a vehicle remains stationary after the animals have been loaded into the vehicle as well as the time while the vehicle is stationary before the animals are removed from the vehicle.
In large commercial poultry operations, it is oftentimes necessary to transport large quantities of live poultry from one location to another. For example, it is typical that poultry are raised in a number of separate rural locations and then transported to a central processing facility for converting the poultry into a salable product. For reasons of maximizing the number of transported birds and thereby minimizing transportation costs, the poultry is packed quite tightly or compactly onto the transporting vehicle during the loading operation.
The vehicle typically used for transportation of poultry is a tractor-trailer type vehicle where the trailer includes one or more cages or compartments open to the outside environment. Since the compartments generally are tightly packed with the poultry, there is a tendency for the birds to overheat due to their proximity to one other, particularly when the exterior environment is at a high temperature such as in the summer months and naturally generated airflow is negligible or non-existent. Any overheating of the poultry may cause a deterioration in the health or even death of the bird. The probability of overheating of the poultry is especially acute when the transporting vehicle is stationary since there is no air flowing through the cages caused by movement of the vehicle. On the other hand, during movement of the vehicle, there is generally sufficient air flow through the cages to prevent overheating of the poultry, even during the high temperatures encountered during the summer.
Generally, the longest periods when the vehicle containing poultry is stationary are encountered when the vehicle is being loaded or unloaded with the poultry, for example, at the poultry farm where the poultry is reared and at the processing facility. The poultry which is loaded onto the transporting vehicle first is most susceptible to overheating since these birds are confined for the longer time without the benefit of a moving airflow for cooling and ventilation purposes. In a like fashion, that poultry which is unloaded last is most susceptible to overheating for the same reasons.
It is known in the art that transport vehicles for live animals can be provided with some type of self-contained cooling or ventilating equipment to help prevent overheating of the animals while confined to the vehicle. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,751,882 to Croyner discloses a livestock carrying truck which is equipped with a water supply system including one or more manifolds each having spray nozzles adapted to form a fine mist of water about the livestock. Also, U.S. Pat. 4,454,837 to Luebke discloses a truck for transporting boxes of poultry having equipment such as an electrically powered air conditioner for circulating air from a floor cavity into a confined load space for the poultry.
A distinct disadvantage to the provisions described in these patents is that it is relatively expensive to provide each transport vehicle with such cooling or ventilating equipment. For commercial operations employing significant numbers of vehicles, the costs associated with modifying existing vehicles to include such equipment would be significant. In addition, it may be considered undesirable or unsanitary to utilize the application of water to the animals since the water tends to distribute waste from the animals into the adjacent environment.
It therefore is a feature of the subject invention to provide a method for loading and/or unloading live animals such as poultry which provides sufficient cooling and/or ventilation for the animals so as to help prevent overheating of the animals.
It also is a feature of the subject invention to provide a method for loading and/or unloading live animals such as poultry which is relatively inexpensive to implement.
It is yet another feature of the subject invention to provide a method for loading and/or unloading live animals such as poultry which is relatively simple to conduct and requires minimal personnel for its operation.
It is a feature of the subject invention to provide a apparatus for use in loading and/or unloading live animals such as poultry which can be repeatedly used with a plurality of vehicles for transporting such animals.
It further is a feature of the subject invention to provide a apparatus for use in loading and/or unloading live animals such as poultry which is relatively inexpensive.
Briefly, the present invention comprehends in its broader aspects a method for loading live animals on a transport vehicle, the method comprising:
providing a transport vehicle for transporting the live animals, the vehicle having at least one compartment for containing the animals and which is partially open to the external environment;
providing a ventilation vehicle adjacent to the transport vehicle, the ventilation vehicle including at least one fan;
loading at least one animal into the compartment; and
while the loading is being conducted, operating said fan of said ventilation vehicle to generate a flow of air toward and into the compartment of the transport vehicle.
The present invention also comprehends an apparatus for use in a method of loading of animals onto a transport vehicle having at least one compartment for containing the animals and which is partially open to the external environment, the apparatus comprising a wheeled vehicle comprising a flat bed trailer, at least one evaporative cool unit carried by the wheeled vehicle, a tank carried by the wheeled vehicle, the tank adapted to contain water for supply to said evaporative cooling unit, and a supply line between the tank and the cooling unit for supplying water to the cooler.
Further features, objects and advantages of the present invention will become more fully apparent from a detailed consideration of the arrangement of the steps and conditions of the subject processes as set forth in the following description when taken together with the accompanying drawings.